Sucking is a precocial motor behavior in humans. However, premature infants often demonstrate oromotor dyscoordination and are unable to suck or feed orally. This inability to feed can delay discharge from neonatal intensive care units and hinder development of coordinated oromotor behavior.
Infants' readiness to feed is often evaluated by their display of non-nutritive sucking (NNS). Typically, NNS begins between 28 and 33 weeks gestational age (GA) and is remarkably stable by 34 weeks.
The brain of a typically developing fetus includes an organized set of neurons in the brainstem and cortex that are involved in the production of centrally patterned rhythmic motor behaviors. These neural circuits are known as central pattern generators or simply “CPG's”. One such rhythmic behavior that is controlled by a CPG is the suck. Under normal circumstances, the human infant is precocial for suck, which means it is a motor behavior that is established in utero and functional at birth. An infant's ability to suck at birth is important for, among other things, getting nourishment and stimulating the infant's developing brain.
In premature birth, the premature infant loses opportunities for safe neurological development in utero. This loss can be compounded by medical complications associated with premature birth, such as strokes or hemorrhages. Further, medical complications often are treated with painful procedures which correlate with impairment in neurological development. As a result of the impairment in neurological development, the premature infant may possess grossly disorganized CPG's and therefore exhibit grossly disorganized suck, which itself can lead to other medical complications and a failure to thrive and develop. Other ramifications of disorganized suck may include: ramifications relating to the infant's overall sensorimotor development, perceptual capacity, and even delays in higher cognitive function including speech, language, and other processing skills. There is a need in the art for devices to assist development of organized suck patterns in patients exhibiting disorganized suck.